Conversations With The Other Witch
by RielleB
Summary: The fate has a cruel sense of humor. A companion piece for The Gift. Warning: Extremely AU. Rated: M for two obvious reasons. Enjoy and R&R :D


**Author's Note**:

Hello lovelies, we meet again :D *waves*

So, this fic is a continuation of my other story, _**The Gift**_¸ so if you haven't read that one, you will need to read that one first, you'll be confuse if you don't :P Anyway, this story will be extremely AU since I've taken more than a few liberties to tweak around with the history of the main character. I blame it all to my muse, she had way too many say on the subject of plot and love to rebel against my wishes.

**Disclaimer: **Definitely not mine and no copyright infringement intended and no, no money is being made from this. I'm just taking the characters for a ride. Or two. I do own the OC though.

**THANKS:**To my beta Kriszti, whose diligence made this a much more pleasant story to read, since there will be no more typos, weird sentences, or bad grammar. And for being such an awesome sounding board, Thanks, darling ^^ and my dear Ophelia Black, I want my cookie dough now thank you very much :D

* * *

She did not turn on the lights as she entered the pent-house. She simply turned around, her fingers danced on the security touchpad to turn on the alarm before she walked to the closet located just to her right. One shoe came off then the other, left discarded, along with the heavy fur coat near the door. She did not even bother to hang them.

The high-end loft was bathed with moonlight coming through the curtainless floor to ceiling window, providing her with enough light to navigate her way forward. She stood there then, over the window, her silhouette casting a lone shadow on the hard wood floor, eyes closed, enjoying the silence reverie.

She meticulously unpinned her hair, smoothing out the loose curls with her fingers, lighter now since it was resting only slightly below her shoulder. She opened her eyes slowly, casting her gaze over to Central Park and let the minutes tick by as she played idly with the pearls strands around her neck, watching the joggers still running around the park despite the late hour.

She sighed then, "Are you planning to stand there and stare at me all night?"

Her onyx eyes gazed up and locked with Hermione's through the window and watched on as the young witch came up from behind her.

"Coming for another session? You should make an appointment at the club."

Hermione noted that she still adopted her American accent, but she ignored the question. Her eyes wandered on the dark witch's attire, the lavender blouse and red skirt would look hideous on other people, but on her they seemed fit, somehow.

"I did. You were never at the Club though." She said distractedly, eyes still roving appreciatively over the gentle curves of the older woman's body, hands itching to pull this dark temptress toward her, to feel those curves against her own body.

She's been fantasizing about this moment, the moment where she would meet her again. Thousands different scenarios running rampant on her mind, but nothing could prepare her for the torrent of emotions that created such chaos inside of her. Fear, confusion, anger, indignation but most of all, _Lust_. Undeniable lust.

It has been 23 days since their last encounter, not that she counted, and Hermione has already used up all of her reasons in her arguments with herself, on why she didn't contact Kingsley as soon as she realized that this woman, this Death Eater, was still very much alive.

The logical part of her knew that she needed to inform the Ministry, but the other part of her, the baser part of her felt the need to have answers, answers that only the woman could provide. She knew that curiosity often killed the cat, but what could she say? She was after all, a lion.

"Ah yes, I've been busy, people to see, places to be. I went to the Club though, once or twice."

Hermione quirked an eyebrow at that answer, she's been watching the Club for nearly two weeks and she never once saw the woman anywhere near the vicinity. She would know, of course, since she casted charms for 2 Km around the Club that would have alerted her if the dark witch had been anywhere near it. The charms came up with zilch. Nada. It was as if the woman had simply disappeared since that fateful night.

The young witch closed her eyes briefly, trying desperately to curb the flashes of images of that night from invading her mind, sadly to no avail. She never once stopped thinking about it. Thinking about her. Her touch. Her voice. Her smell.

"….. That, however, didn't quite explain how you managed to break a few federal laws for breaking and entering."

Bellatrix's husky voice broke her out of her reverie and Hermione shook her head slightly, trying to clear her mind, already so shrouded with want.

"Speaking of which, how did you know that I was here?"

A roll of the eyes was her answer and Hermione chuckled, "Of course, you placed a ward, didn't you? And why is it, Bella? Can I call you Bella? Hmm…. You have all of this _muggle_ technology surrounding you and yet, you felt the need to place a ward, as if you were avoiding something, or someone? Someone who knew magic…. Me?" The last word was whispered to the older woman's ear, just as she leaned both of her arms against the window, trapping her.

"See, you don't exactly make it easy for me to find you. Do you?" Hermione leaned forward, closing the last few inches of gap separating them, pulling Bellatrix's body flushed against her, nuzzling her ear as she spoke, breathing in deeply the intoxicating smell coming off from the woman in front of her, "I even had to imperio one of your staff to meet you and slipped my tracking device inside your bag, just in case I lost you in the crowd."

"You stalked me?" There was a note of disbelief and something else that Hermione couldn't really pin point lacing her question, but the brunette was too busy running her hands on the soft material of the blouse to analyze it.

"Uh huh." She murmured affirmatively, her lips moving ghostly across the woman's jaw line before her teeth grazed on one ear lobe and her mouth closed around it, nibbling at it softly, "I should've just sent a message to Kingsley, let them haul you back to Azkaban, but I figured I should have a conversation with you first, girl to girl…. Ugh."

Hermione grunted as an elbow connected with her rib, knocking her backwards and made her release the grip she had on the other witch. She blocked the kick coming toward her with a groan, "Wrong move." She grasped the offending limb and pulled with as much force as possible, causing the dark witch to lose her balance and go down with a grunt when her body connected to the hard wood floor.

"Bollocks." Bellatrix muttered under her breath as she tried to lift herself off the floor only to find herself pinned to the ground, effectively immobilized.

Not easily deterred, the dark witch struggled to throw Hermione off her body. She trashed around, her arms straining upward, trying to push the lean body above her with difficulties. She gasped when one by one, both of her arms were pinned upward in a tight grip, accompanied by a dark "Don't. Move" growled against the flushed skin of her cheek.

Bellatrix winced when the grip tightened and met the furious brown eyes staring down at her with her own defiance, their eyes locked in a silent battle of will. Both witches were breathing hard, their breath came in small puffs as adrenaline rushed through their bodies, heart beating wildly when they realized that they were in a similar position as they were in a distant lifetime ago, only in reverse.

"How does it feel? How does it feel to be so helpless? To be completely in someone's mercy?" Hermione sneered and gripped her arms even harder, relishing the pain that shone in the dark eyes, "So stubborn…. It hurts, doesn't it? Don't you just want to scream, Bella?" Hermione asked, her lips dangerously close to the older woman.

Hermione reached back to pull out her wand and beneath her Bellatrix went rigid.

"Scared?" Mocked the young witch, trailing the tip of her wand slowly across the beautiful jaw line, down to her neck and passed along to her ribs.

"_Crucio_"

The gentlest of a whisper left Hermione's lips, spoken against the dark witch lips.

Bellatrix's body jerked, she gritted her teeth against the onslaught of pain coursing through her body. Her eyes glazed over, yet she still refused to scream. Her dark eyes, always so proud, stared at the young witch, watched on as the clouded gaze turned soft and the pain subsided then gone.

"Satisfied?" Her voice croaked, yet there was no hint that she just experienced excruciating pain.

Hermione leaned her forehead on Bellatrix's chin, a soft shake of her head was the silent answer. Both witches fell silent, neither moved from their spot until Bellatrix felt liquid drip onto her skin, sliding slowly down the column of her neck.

"I hate you."

The brunette lifted her head, her eyes, filled with unshed tears, bored down at the one woman who invaded her mind and refused to let go.

"I dreamt of this before, taking back the control that you took from me, to hurt you, demean you, giving you a taste of your own medicine. I trained and trained, I took up Muay Thai, anything to defeat you. To conquer the fear that you instilled in me. And now…." Hermione laughed humorlessly,

"I don't even feel any satisfaction."

Hermione got off from her position, opting to sit beside the still prone woman, legs drawn, she leaned her forehead on her raised knees. Her ardor cooled and emotionally spent, all she wanted was to forget that all of this ever happened. She cursed the day she met the woman, the day she broke her, the day she made her fall into pieces.

"You shouldn't have come here."

Hermione snorted, "And what? Let you simply walk off from what you've done? Without any repercussions? To simply forget that the foulest Death Eater ever lived was actually still walking among us?"

"Yet you haven't told anyone, have you?" Her British accent firmly in place, Bellatrix rose to a sitting position and Hermione tensed, her grip on the wand tightened, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

"Stay where you are."

Bellatrix scowled, "You have your wand, I don't. I'm helpless, remember?"

Hermione laughed darkly, "Oh you are many things, but helpless has certainly never been one of them. Where do you keep your wand?"

"I don't have one, not anymore, Roland took it from me."

One finely shaped eyebrow rose and regarded the dark witch with confusion and suspicion. Mostly suspicion and yet, as she drank in the woman in front of her, gone was the Death Eater. There was nothing of the old Bellatrix Lestrange that she knew of, oh the dark eyes still held the same arrogance, yet not completely the same. As she sat there, hair slightly mused from their struggle, the once pristine _colored_ blouse wrinkled and slightly un-tucked, her demeanor, she didn't look any different than any other Upper East Side socialite.

"You packed a mean kick." And once again Hermione wondered, why she always blurt out the damnest things.

Bellatrix blew a stray bang out of her eyes and shrugged, "Roland's bodyguard taught me self-defense, he said that I would need it to survive here."

And the pesky curiosity came back with a vengeance with that answer.

"I have a proposition for you." Hermione bit her lips slightly, she still couldn't believe that she was about to do what she was about to do.

###

_Blup, blup, blup_

Hermione watched as Bellatrix, who sat across from her at the dining table, poured a generous amount of the red liquid into the crystal glass, swirling it lightly before taking a tentative sip.

"So let me get this straight, you're going to give me a month of freedom for each question that I answered?"

Hermione nodded, "I won't tell anyone that you're here, you should be safe enough." She pushed the enchanted contract toward the woman and raised her eyebrow in a challenge, a small smirk splaying on her lips.

The older woman shook her head slightly, "I think you're bloody mental."

Hermione studied her silently, she knew virtually nothing about the other woman's life other than what she gleaned from her own experience, the whispered fear and indignant anger of those who have suffered from the end of her wand. But the woman that she saw now, the one who had soothed her fear and ignited fire inside of her was not the one that she knew of. She once feared this woman, condemned her even for her past indiscretion. Strangely, she now felt the need to know more, to learn more about this enigmatic woman.

She was beautiful, extremely so as to invite people to stop and appreciate her beauty. Hermione watched as the low lightning of the dining room softened her features, creating a glow on her alabaster skin. Unbeknown to her, she has committed that fine straight nose, the dark eyes, the sculptured cheek bones to her memory, the beauty that had captured and enticed her without failure.

Her long elegant fingers playing idly with the pearl strands as she read the written words on the parchment and Hermione wished that it was her own skin that she caressed. Her dark bangs fell just slightly over her eyes, and Hermione's hand tingled, wanting to brush aside the errant lock to be able to look at her face unobstructed.

Bellatrix touched the space located beneath the writing with the tip of her forefinger, wincing slightly as the magic of the parchment sucked the blood out from her finger, weaved her blood into the printed version of her name, sealing their oath with blood. She looked up and caught the young witch staring at her, she tilted her head slightly, acknowledging Hermione's staring with a flicker of a smile on her lips but not saying a word.

She pushed the parchment forward, grabbing the wine glass before she reclined on her seat, resting both of her feet on the chair beside her, "I do believe you have questions?"

Hermione searched Bellatrix's eyes and saw clearness in the depth of those dark eyes and somehow she knew that regardless the truthful spell she casted to bind her to speak only the truth and nothing but the truth, the witch would answer her truthfully and something, an unseen burden weighing on her seemed to be lifted.

She carefully thought over the questions, which had expanded exponentially over the time she spent with this woman. She opened her mouth, only to close it a second later, unsure where to start. Bellatrix regarded her silently, sipping her wine, her face betraying nothing of what she was feeling, while Hermione struggled internally.

"Who is Roland?" Blurted out Hermione before she could stop it.

Bellatrix stopped the wine glass from touching her lips and put it down on the table, "Of all the questions you could come up with, you picked that one?" The older woman laughed slightly before picking up her glass again and took a sip, "Jealous?" She winked and Hermione was distracted enough to not even scowl.

The wine caused her already red lips to glisten against the low light they kept on in dining room and the young witch wished she could just lean forward and kiss those glistening lips, to taste the lingering taste of the wine on her tongue, "Maybe." She answered huskily, her eyes never leaving the ruby red lips. She blinked, as if woken up from a trance and shook her head slightly, in the name of everything holy, what sorcery did she use? Hermione wondered.

The older woman regarded her curiously before her expression turned…. Calmer, if possible, "Roland he, he is someone that I love."

Hermione was stunned. She couldn't have predicted that answer and the soft response caught her off guard. Bellatrix's devotion for the Dark Lord was legendary and seconded to none, to see her expressing her love for _someone else_ was unimaginable.

"Well…" Hermione was momentarily at a loss, all of her carefully structured questions crumbled with that simple statement.

"I saw the curse hit you."

A shadow flickered across Bellatrix's face and was gone in an instance. She sipped her wine quietly, before looking toward the window, remembering, "I was injured, badly. The blood… " She stopped and took a deep breath, struggling with her next words, "The Weasley woman didn't have the conviction to kill me. You know perfectly well that to kill someone, anyone, you need to really mean it, but she, she still has goodness in her to not be able to do that."

That shadow again and she shifted uncomfortably, taking another sip of her wine she was lost in the memory once more, "I lost consciousness and when I came to, the Dark Lord…." She became silent then, "Anyway, I knew that I would either be killed or sent back to Azkaban and I would have none of that, so I waited. I waited until they ordered a lackey to dump us in plotted graves, that's when I made my move."

"Imperius?"

Bellatrix nodded, "Altered his memory a bit of course, just for precaution, but I was sure the Ministry wouldn't even bother to check his memory, not when they already won the war."

She played again with her pearl strands, a habit that Hermione picked up she did whenever she was lost in thought.

"I went to the only place that I knew was safe for me, anyone who knew about the place was already dead. A few of my ribs were broken, I could hardly breathe, I'm not even sure how I managed to apparate there, but I did. I know some healing spells, but it was not enough, I caught a fever a few nights later, I was so sure that I was going to die, but then… then Roland came."

"So he saved your life?" The question came out more like a statement and Hermione wondered whether that was the reason why Bellatrix loved the man, because he saved her life?

Bellatrix rolled her eyes, but a small smile lingered on her lips, annoying Hermione to no end.

"If you considered giving me conditions upon conditions on how to live my life saving it, then yes you could say that."

"Conditions…. As in sexual favor kind of conditions?" Hermione blushed as she asked, and grew even more embarrassed when the woman laughed, a husky timbre laugh that caused a thrill to run along her body.

"You have a dirty mind, muddy." She laughed once more at the scowl that appeared on Hermione's face and shook her head in disbelief.

"No, they were more of you have to go to therapy and learn to play nice with muggles kind of conditions."

Hermione blinked. She never had a problem with her hearing but this time she surely heard wrong. Therapy? Did she just say Therapy?

"Uh.. Therapy?"

"He forced me to see a head doctor."

A giggle bubbled through Hermione and burst out without warning, "Please tell me you're joking." She said as she grinned at the glowering woman.

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes and Hermione stopped giggling, she gritted her teeth and glared at the impossible woman in front of her.

The sudden pain cut through her, not exactly the slashing feeling that she experienced before, this one was more like paper cuts, multiple paper cuts cutting through her skin. She begrudgingly applauded the dark witch's ability to crucio her without a wand and without even uttering the spell, it didn't however, make it right to do so.

"Stop it." Hermione reached for her wand and braced herself against the waves of pain coursing through her body.

"Do you think that just because you have the upper hand, you can laugh at me, _mudblood_?"

An even sharper cut this time and Hermione jumped from her seat, the pain was electrifying and she got slightly light headed, "I see that those therapies didn't change you for the better." Her eyes blazed with anger at the now equally standing woman.

"Well, I haven't exactly succeeded in my anger management." Spat Bellatrix, muttering another spell that prickled Hermione's skin, annoying the young witch even further.

"I said, stop it!" Hermione clenched her fists tightly, trying to contain her sudden desire to strike this woman.

"What if I don't, muddy? Are you going to hurt me? You need to really _mean_ it this time." Bellatrix stepped closer to Hermione, a sneer painting her beautiful face.

Sweat broke on Hermione's forehead as she fought the pain that erupted as Bellatrix got closer to her. Hermione growled and lunged at the older woman, her hand grasping the other woman's throat in a firm grip, "Don't. You. Dare."

Their eyes met once more, glaring at each other with equal contempt. "Don't _You _dare laugh at me."

Hermione stared at her, her gaze hardened as anger engulfed her, and she took a step closer, forcing the woman to take a step back until her back hit the table behind her.

"You don't get it, do you? You don't get it all." Anger warred with the sudden spike of uncontrollable desire that came with their close quarter. She was well aware of the heat that came pouring from Bellatrix's body, the pressing of their bodies together and Hermione was furious. She was furious with the woman that stared at her with such defiance, her pride would be her downfall and yet she still didn't get it. She was furious with herself, she hated how her body reacted in ways that she couldn't even explain, she hated how she couldn't control herself around this woman, how this woman made her lose the battle with sense and reason. This woman…. This woman….

Hermione reached down and gathered the material of Bellatrix's blouse in her hand, pulling her roughly to her and crushed their mouths together, she pinned both of Bellatrix's hands to her sides, pressing her body hard against Bellatrix's. Her kiss was anything but gentle and she didn't even care, she wanted to dominate her, mark her. She reached down and yanked Bellatrix's blouse apart, her excitement mounted when she heard the ripping noise from the material, using Bellatrix's gasp of surprise to deepen the kiss, moving her tongue to press urgently against the older woman.

She broke the kiss abruptly, her breath caught in her chest. She wanted Bellatrix so badly and her body already ready to explode just from kissing her. She groaned, moving her mouth toward the junction of Bellatrix's neck, biting it hard enough to draw a cry from the dark witch.

"Fuck." Bellatrix arched her pelvis into Hermione, tilting her head back to expose her neck, giving the younger woman a better access. "Don't…." she gasped when Hermione pushed her skirts up to her hip and slid a leg between her own.

"Shut up," Hermione growled, missing the soft whispered '_stop' _coming from Bellatrix's mouth which turned into a groan when Hermione spun her around and slammed her face down on to the dining table.

"Do you know how crazy you made me?" Whispered Hermione into her ear before she ripped the back side of the blouse off of Bellatrix's body, revealing the black lacy bra she wore underneath. She brushed Bellatrix's hair aside, suckling on the back of her neck with enough force to leave a mark before her tongue left a blaze of trail down her back, enjoying the taste of her skin.

Hermione muttered a quick spell to divest them of the rest their clothes and pressed forward, her erect nipples pressing against Bellatrix's back.

"I can't get enough of you." Hermione growled lowly, the naked passion in her voice made Bellatrix tremble, "I want to fuck you so bad, fuck you so hard you'll scream my _name."_ Hermione's hip rocked against Bellatrix's ass and the older woman gasped when she felt something firm against her ass.

"You feel that?" Hermione's hand glided along the side of Bellatrix's thigh up to her backside, teasing her opening with the tip of her dildo, groaning when it slipped inside so easily, "Fuck you're so wet."

She jerked Bellatrix's head back by her hair, stroking the outer edge of the woman's ear with her tongue, "Tell me you want me to fuck you." Hermione's hand moved to massage one of her breasts, her hip moving slowly, gently probing Bellatrix's already aching opening. "Tell me."

"Oh God, do it… do it." Whispered Bella brokenly when Hermione reached over and stroked her clit boldly.

Hermione's hands grasped Bellatrix by the hips, and the woman moaned in pleasure when Hermione finally plunged into her. Her eyes slid shut. Her mouth fell open and she leaned her head back against Hermione's shoulder as ripples of pleasure shook her core. She cried out when Hermione's strokes went faster, clutching the desk for support as she swayed from the force of Hermione's thrusts.

Her head fell forward when the first ripple of orgasm gripped her, "Oh God…ugh….ugh…" She bit her lips until she could taste blood, bracing herself with both hands on the table, her head bent down, gasping as stroke after stroke went in and out of her body. Her thighs trembled, her body tensed and she knew that she was close, so close. Hermione's hand reached down and found her aching clit and flicked it rapidly until Bellatrix exploded, screaming in ecstasy.

Aware of Bellatrix's release, Hermione grabbed her hips and held her down. Thrusting up into her with reckless abandon, gasps and groans punctuating each thrust as the other end of the dildo brushed up against her own clit with each animalistic thrust. Pleasure seized her and Hermione almost forgot to breathe, groaning when she came.

###

They both laid there in silence, their bodies rapidly cooling off and Hermione wondered whether she should say something. What should one say to someone that they just fucked senseless? Thank you? It was amazing? It was indeed amazing though, even now her hand still itched to trace the contour of the body beneath her, to slide inside her and coax another cry out of her.

She was so lost in her thought, she froze when the body beneath her started to tremble and a laugh escaped her lips.

"What?" Hermione asked, annoyed by the sudden intrusion.

"Your stomach is growling, get off me."

Hermione did, watching with appreciation as the older woman padded toward the living room, without any care in the world that she didn't have any stitch of clothing on her body.

"I think it's time for some muggle magic."

"Huh?" Hermione croaked out, still very much distracted by the curve of her full breasts, the flat of her stomach and that amazing backside.

"Delivery. Pizza okay?"

Wait? What? First she was talking about therapy and now pizza? Hermione giggled out loud, "I would never have believed that this day would come, where Bellatrix Lestrange eats pizza. I didn't even know that you knew pizza even exists."

Not a second later, Hermione was knocked to the floor and the dark witch smirked, "You were saying?"

Hermione scowled, "Fine. Anything will do." She picked up her discarded clothes and started putting them on, how was it possible that this woman changed so much and yet in some wicked way still stayed the same?

"They said they'll be here in half an…. hour." She said as a piece of black clothing zoomed out from her bedroom onto her hand.

"Put it on, you're distracting me."

Bellatrix rolled her eyes, muttering something about the young witch not complaining before, and slipped on the black satin robe.

"Beer?" She asked, looking through the content of her refrigerator as she did so.

"Corona, if you have them." Hermione's brow furrowed as she sat down on one of the stools on the kitchen island. Still confused with the rapid change of events, first they were ready to kill each other, then they were fucking and weirdly now they were being civilized with each other. It irked her though, because the infuriating woman didn't even seem to acknowledge that they just had sex with each other. Again.

"Do you know that you're being followed?" Asked Hermione, sipping the cold Corona Bellatrix handed to her before taking her seat across the young witch.

"Those idiots that tried to be inconspicuous yet so remarkably failed? Yes I know, Roland put them as my bodyguards."

"But why would he put bodyguards on you? I mean he should know by now that you don't need protection, unless they're protecting you from the Ministry and yet as you know, no one is looking for you."

Bellatrix played with the rim of her wine glass, before sighing as if debating just how much she had to share.

"I lived with him the first two years I got here, so people saw me with him, people that want him dead. I told him repeatedly that I don't need any protection, as awful as it sounds, they're the one who should be afraid of me." Bellatrix took a small sip of her wine, "But then again, he didn't want me to have any sort of connection with violence or magic for that matter."

"He knew about the magic?" Hermione was intrigued, whoever this Roland was, it seemed there was more to him than met the eyes.

Bellatrix snorted, "More than that, he went to Hogwarts."

Hermione has never been more thankful that she already gulped down her drink before she heard that, if not, she was pretty sure that she would have died choking.

"He what?"

"He was there way before our time. He was a Slytherin. A muggle-born Slytherin. Imagine that." A fond smile crossed her features and Hermione was struck once more just how beautiful this woman was and tried to hide the pang that she felt when she saw that smile. This woman, who bore hatred so deep towards muggles, could love a muggle-born man, what were the odds of that?

"He fell in love, loved her till the day she died, will always love her till the day he dies." The last word came so softly, Hermione had to strain to catch them, but catch them she did and that persistent curiosity reared its ugly head.

"You're wondering who he fell in love with, and no, I can't take a peek inside your head, but it's pretty clearly written all over your face." She smiled then, a small sad smile before it vanished when she heard the door bell ring.

She stood up, walking away from the kitchen when she tossed the words over her shoulder, "He's in love with Druella Rosier."

Druella Rosier…. Druella Rosier…. Where did she hear it before? Drue…. Hermione was stunned.

_Bellatrix's mother_.

She vaguely heard Bellatrix saying something about the troll hopefully not destroying the pizza like the last time she asked for delivery and those trolls of a guard checked it for poison, but she was still staring at the counter, too lost in her own thoughts.

Bellatrix put the carton box down and opened it for inspection. The pizza still got the lingering steam from the melted cheese on the top and the delicious smell coming off it made Hermione's stomach growl again, yet, she couldn't move from her spot.

"He's in love with your mother."

"No wonder they said that you are the smartest witch of your generation."

Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly, from other people it would be a compliment, but from this woman? She wasn't so sure.

"What happened then?" She watched the older woman take a tiny nibble of the pizza, chewing slowly, taking her time to answer. A flicker of annoyance crossed her features before she glared openly at Hermione.

"Did you put a time restriction spell for how long I could think before answering your questions?"

Hermione shook her head, "No, it only gives you a headache if you're contemplating to hide something. What are you trying to hide?"

"Their story has nothing to do with me, why should I tell you anything about it?"

They stared at each other and another war battled inside of Hermione, she wanted to know, she always wanted to know everything and this was not an exception. Somehow she knew that somewhere in that particular story was the key to the woman in front of her. Yet, she knew that if she pushed, she wouldn't get any answer.

"Why would anyone want him dead? Is he involved with the government or something illegal?" She changed her question, leaning over to take one pizza from the box.

"Or something." Was the cryptic answer, but Hermione was nothing but persistent.

"And the sex club?"

Bellatrix shrugged, finishing off her pizza with a sip of her wine, "The previous manager of the place retired so Roland needed someone to manage it, and my psychologist said something about me finding an outlet, so it's perfect."

One plus one equals two and Hermione's eyes widened, "Please tell me whatever it is I'm thinking it's not true."

"It's not." Bellatrix dead panned, ignoring the glare sent her way by the younger witch, hiding a smile with another sip of her wine.

"The dead threats, the men in black, the sex club, he's involved with the mob isn't he?"

One fine eyebrow rose, "Maybe."

"No, not just involved, he wouldn't be able to give you a 24/7 bodyguard if he wasn't powerful enough, so he has to be someone pretty high up, the head?"

Bellatrix chuckled, "Anyone ever told you that you're just like a dog with a bone when you're curious about something?"

"All the time." Hermione shrugged it off, focusing on the woman in front of her, "And my curiosity could kill a lion, but that's not the point, the point is, is he or is he not the head of a mob?"

The older woman sighed, "Maybe, and that's all you're getting for tonight." She walked over to the cupboard and pulled out another bottle of wine before deciding against it, "I need something stronger." She murmured to herself, walking towards the mini bar set near the living room, aware that the young witch followed her there.

She pulled out a tumbler and filled it with ice, fixing herself a stiff drink.

"What about the therapy?"

"What about it?" She sipped her vodka on a rock and studied the younger witch. The mudblood has changed a lot throughout the years. Of course she changed, the girl she tortured was a mere slip of a girl, the young woman standing before her has gone through war and survived. She was also undoubtedly beautiful and she was smart, smart enough to intrigue her and that alone in and of itself was frightening. She was acutely aware of Hermione's gaze upon her, so focused and driven to know the truth and Bellatrix felt it as palpable as a touch.

She relented, "I was… what you would call depressed. The Dark Lord… the man that I loved was dead, I was crushed. I was thrown into a new environment, away from the only home I ever knew. Roland took away magic from me, forcing me to live as a muggle, chaining my magic by a necklace that can only be taken off by him."

Bellatrix blinked when she realized that her hand was trembling and forced herself to take another sip, not realizing that the younger witch noticed everything, "Magic has been a part of me, and without it I was lost. I know why he did it, but that doesn't mean that I agree with his method."

"What happened then?"

The dark witch shrugged, putting down her tumbler and started walking toward her bedroom, "I fell apart."

###

The first sound that reached Hermione's ear was the sound of water splashing against the tile. The bright light of the shower caused spotlight to dance across her eyes, more accustomed to the low light that engulfed them before. Her hand moved quickly, turning the brightness of the room down to a much more comfortable level before removing her clothes and opening the glass door leading to the shower stall.

Bellatrix stood there, under the spray of hot water, her rigid back already flushed from the heat.

"I don't remember inviting you in."

"I invited myself." Hermione said softly, turning the older woman around towards her, slightly surprised when she did so without any hesitation.

"Maybe I want to wash you off me." Her dark eyes were a bottomless pool of nothingness, there were droplets of water dripping from her jaw and Hermione wondered whether all of them were water from the shower.

"Maybe." Hermione stepped closer to stand under the streaming water herself, sighing when the heat from the water sooth her aching body. Their eyes locked when her hand reached out to trace Bellatrix's collarbone, a small feather light touch meant to sooth and not rouse. She continued her journey down the soft slope of her chest, following the trickle of water that caused her perfect alabaster skin to glisten in the light. She cupped one of her breasts carefully, lifting it, brushing her thumb softly against the erect nipple and Bellatrix moaned, her eyelids fluttered shut and she swayed slightly on her feet.

Hermione wrapped an arm around her, pressing their bodies together, stroking Bellatrix's back and buttocks all the while pressing butterfly kisses on her temple, her ear, her cheek. Hermione couldn't remember when she wanted anyone so badly, it would have been so easy to push her against the wall, to let the passion that shimmered between them come to its exploding conclusion, to devour her with her lips, to satisfy her hunger that seemed to burn her alive with the sight and sound and feel of her. But she didn't.

She wanted to savor this moment, savor each precious second and burn them into her memory, because she knew that this moment wouldn't last. The precious ones never did.

She nuzzled Bellatrix's neck, breathing in the soft smell of her, before running her tongue along the column of her neck, tasting the water against her skin. Her hand moved to cup Bellatrix's buttocks, pressing their bodies even closer together, slipping one of her legs between the older woman's legs, groaning when she encountered the heat there. Straddling Hermione's thigh, Bellatrix started to move, gliding her center against the hard muscle, their slick skin sliding against each other in a slow sensual dance.

"I couldn't stand any longer." Bellatrix's rasped, both of her hands clutched at Hermione in a semi embrace for support.

"Shhh… I got you." Hermione pushed Bellatrix gently against the wall, kissing her gasp away when her back touched the cold tile of the shower, before moving her lips lower to her neck, down to her chest, and even lower still, catching a droplet of water off her nipple with the tip of her tongue, before engulfing it into her warm mouth, suckling it gently, guided only by Bellatrix's escalating moan of pleasure and the hand on her hair.

Hermione looked up through her lashes and met the smoldering gaze of the older woman, her dilated pupils turning her eyes impossibly darker. "Come here."

The younger witch rose up, capturing Bellatrix's lips in searing kiss, their tongue danced in a silent battle for dominance that neither wanted to win. She let the older woman guide her hand toward the pulsing heat between her legs, swallowing her moan at the first light contact, ignoring the slight pain when Bellatrix's fingers bored down on her shoulder.

She parted her gently with her fingers, stroking along her labia with gentle strokes, until a hard bite on her shoulder caused her to chuckle, "You have no patience." She murmured, nibbling at Bellatrix's earlobe, purposely slowing her already so gentle stroke.

"Is this payback for that night?"

Hermione smiled against her cheek, remembering how the dark temptress put her on the edge until she begged.

"Maybe." She eased into her then, before withdrawing almost completely only to enter her again with another finger and Bellatrix groaned, her hips rocking in time with the thrusts of Hermione's fingers, "More…" She gasped, her head thudded against the wall with the pleasure that was building inside of her.

Hermione leaned her forehead on Bellatrix's shoulder, adding another finger, she entered her again, pushing into her deeper with each thrust. Bellatrix clung to her, shuddering as wave upon wave of pleasure ran through her body, they were pressed tightly together with only the wall as their support, their ragged breaths and the sounds of pleasure drown out by the sound of water against the tiles.

"I'm close…." She bucked against the waiting hand and Hermione, consumed by the sudden need to taste her, dropped on her knees.

"Don't come yet."

She knelt between the quivering thighs and lowered her face to trace Bellatrix's labia with her tongue, stroking lightly before dipping deeper to taste the juice of her lover, moving up to tease the base of Bellatrix's clit with the flick of her tongue.

She reached out and spread her wider using her fingers, stroking the engorged bundle of nerves with the flat of her tongue, moving it up and down, stroking and caressing Bellatrix's clit until she could almost feel the impending climax of her lover.

She grasped her buttocks, pulling Bellatrix even harder against her face, as she encircled her clit and sucked it into her mouth, distantly hearing the choked moan of the older woman, finally caught in the web of passion.

###

Bellatrix stood in front of the window, the thin satin robe did nothing to ease the coldness that she felt as she watched the dark sky turn a softer light by the minute, dawn was breaking.

"It's almost morning, you probably should leave."

Hermione watched her from the bed, wrinkled sheets covering her otherwise naked body, confusion written all over her face, "I haven't finished my questioning yet."

"There's no question left, you and I both know that."

Hermione rose from the bed, wrapping the sheets around her as she walked toward the window, "You haven't told me the reason you made my scar disappear."

"Yeah well, I gave that to you, shouldn't I be the one that take it back?"

Hermione frowned, was it really that simple? Was it really only a manifestation of the changes inside of her? Was it really just her trying to undo the hurt that she caused?

"I was given forgiveness by the man that shouldn't forgive me." She started and then stopped, she sighed then, a heavy exclamation of her breath before the words left her lips, "One last question, and then I want you out of my life."

Bellatrix turned around then and met Hermione's wounded gaze without a flinch, watching as the soft gaze in Hermione's eyes turned colder and colder still.

"Tell me what you mean by that and then I'll leave."

"I'll need a drink and you should put on some clothes." Bellatrix brushed pass the rigid young witch, wincing when Hermione grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"I'll give you a year, one year and I will tell them that you're still alive. I won't lie to the Ministry, I won't lie to Harry and Ron."

"I never expected you to." Bellatrix's fingers brushed against the tight grip of the young witch, a silent plea to let her go and Hermione begrudgingly relented, her brown eyes never leaving the older woman's back until she disappeared from view.

Hermione walked out from the room with her jeans still unbuttoned, her fingers busy buttoning her long sleeved black shirt. She stopped in her track when she saw Bellatrix sat just over the window, her gaze once again watching the break of day.

"Do you ever think that life handed you too many unexpected things?" She looked over to her then and the smile on her face broke Hermione's heart.

"Fate led you to that one person you couldn't live without and yet, fate also took them away from you. It's cruel don't you think?"

She took a long gulp of her tumbler, wincing from the burn of the alcohol moving down her throat, "My mother was already betrothed to the house of Black when she met and fell in love with a muggle-born wizard. They were young and reckless, but stupid they never were. They knew if they had eloped, they would never have escaped the wrath of the Black family. The noblest of the noble, they had the money and the power to crush you to dust and they would, no one humiliated a Black and lived to tell the tale."

"So they broke up after your mother married your father?" Hermione sat down on her opposite, knees drawn up to her chin. She waited for Bellatrix to continue, but the witch just sat there, watching the hue of the sky turning slightly grayish in color.

"They never did, they promised each other that their love would span eternity and this is only a small sacrifice for a lifetime of togetherness." Bellatrix moved her finger lazily toward the kitchen and only Hermione's quick reflex prevented the Corona from knocking her against her head.

"Roland migrated over to America and as you know, he got involved with the mob, using his magical ability to do the dirty work. See, they knew that for them to get away with anything they would need to get a lot of help and it was Roland's way to accumulate power."

Both of the witches took a long sip of their poison of choice, once again letting silence to settle between them, "They met regularly over the years, stolen moments in Scotland or Ireland, tiny islands here and there, anywhere but England. My mother even took me and Andy to meet him and he loved us, so much so, he was in every sense of the word my father, just not biologically. You see, my father never cared for us, he only cared about the family business, about his political and social stand in the magical community. Do you know that he hated my mother for not giving him a son for an heir?"

Bellatrix ran her hand through her hair, closing her eyes briefly against whatever it was that surfaced in her mind, "I was 11, excited because I was finally going to enter Hogwarts, when I found my mother's correspondences with him, they were going to run away together. Mother couldn't stand father anymore, and she wanted to leave. She was going to leave me and Andy, taking Cissy with her."

The pain in her eyes was so palpable, Hermione instinctively wanted to wrap her hand around her, something that she knew she would regret if she did it. "Why taking Cissy and not all of you?"

Bellatrix chuckled darkly, "Didn't you ever wonder why Andy was almost the split image of me and yet Cissy barely bore any resemblance to us?"

She ignored Hermione's startled look, finishing off her drink in one gulp and threw the tumbler across the room, "I was so angry. How could they even think of leaving us behind? Was it because me and Andy were a painful reminder of their time apart? The reason that kept them apart? When they said that they loved me and Andy, it was all lies… all lies…."

"You told your father, didn't you."

"Of course, I told you, no one betrays a Black."

The sun peaked from the clouds, slowly rising, bathing the surrounding area with its light and Hermione remained silent, watching the sun glisten in her dark eyes, the sadness that seemed to wrap around her and refused to let go.

"I told him their rendezvous point and I went along with my fathers and his friends, I watched as they took my mother away and tortured him, I watched as he recognized me. He betrayed me, he had it coming. My father was right, I should never have trusted muggles, they were nothing but liars. I never told my father about Cissy though, it was my only bargaining point, my silences for my mother's presence." Bellatrix's face seemed to contort in pain for a brief second, a flicker of emotion, a small crack on her marbled mask.

"She died three months later. She refused to eat, she refused to live, I took away her source of happiness, her reason to live. I took away her life. Me… her own daughter."

Hermione couldn't stand it anymore, she crossed the gap between them and gathered her in her arms, "You were a child, Bella…. You couldn't have known."

Bellatrix tried to push her away, but Hermione refused to let go, and she won when Bellatrix went limp in her arms, her head resting in the crook of her neck, "Is that the place where he found you?" A small nod against her neck was her answer before the older woman moved, disengaging herself from the embrace and stood up.

"He never meant to leave Andy and me…. I just never saw his next letter, telling mother to bring us all. See… fate has a cruel sense of humor and yet we are all at the mercy of it."

Hermione walked up to her, wrapping her hands around the petite woman's body, warming her chilled skin with the heat from her body, "It's a mad world…"

Bellatrix closed her eyes, leaning against the warm embrace, "And happy ending doesn't exist."

A hand caressed the side of her face, bringing their faces closer together, "Cruelty… thy name is fate." Whispered Hermione before she closed the gap between them, capturing Bellatrix's lips in a heart wrenching kiss.

###

The music was loud, forcing the heartbeats of the people dancing on the dance floor to beat along the staccato sound. Throngs of bodies grinding against each other, all of the sweat and the heat caused the air to smell like sex.

Hermione laughed but shook her head, refusing to join her friends on the dance floor, preferring to nurse her vodka on the rock, simply watching the crowd.

She did that now, always watching the crowd, perhaps it was the auror training in her that caused it, perhaps it was something else altogether, but the first thing that she would do whenever she entered a place was to sweep her eyes around the room, always looking around, always searching, after all the word 'constant vigilance' was still one of the number one rules among the aurors.

She raked her hand across her short hair, she always kept it boyishly short now, enjoying the freedom that it created for her throughout her work on the field, capturing any misbehaving wizard with her two best friends, the Golden Trio together again they said.

But that was not her priority, even now, 3 years after she left Bellatrix's Central Park avenue apartment, 3 years after the dark witch suddenly disappeared without a trace, her top priority was to capture the former Death Eater, under the order of the Ministry of course, after all she was the one that told them that the dark witch was indeed alive, omitting the real reason on how she knew it in the first place.

However, she was Hermione Granger, and no one questioned the one third of the Golden Trio, not when such disclosure caused them to gain such a brilliant witch, especially not when the auror office started rounding up Death Eaters that eluded capture before, all thanks to Hermione's brilliant strategy.

"Come on, Hermione, don't just stand there! Mingle, girl, you promised!" Amanda yelled at her, straining to be heard against the music, her hands pulling Hermione to join the others on the dance floor.

"I told you, Manda, I don't dance. Just leave me here, with my drink, enjoy yourself."

"Party pooper! Fine!" Amanda glared at her playfully before nudging her in the ribs, "That girl has been watching you all night now, you probably should go over there and say hello."

Hermione frowned and looked across the room and saw a tall blond girl watching her with a smile on her lovely face, and Hermione smiled back politely.

"Not my type, Manda. Not my type." Hermione pushed her best friend toward the dance floor then, encouraging her to have her fun and just leave the grouch behind, which she then begrudgingly complied, after exacting a promise from Hermione that the young woman would at least try to enjoy herself. After all, it had been 3 years since they last saw each other after Hermione abruptly dropped out from the university.

Hermione swept her eyes along the room once more, contently sipping her bitter beverage, watching the crowd. Yes, she would have her fun, but not now, not with someone that couldn't even stir simple lust inside of her. She unbuttoned another button of her white shirt, feeling a little warm from the heat of the club's lights that danced around her, a light sheen of sweat already coated her skin.

She moved slightly and the light caught the onyx ornament hanging from her neck, resting over her chest. The word '_Toujours Pur_' glinting under the light.

* * *

**End Note:** Fiuuhh... its kind of a long one right? Reviews are always love and criticism will always be welcome. It will only help me to write better, so please give me your comment :) Thank you for reading it! ^^


End file.
